Democrats have repeatedly tailored their financial regulatory reform bill to win Sen. Scott Brown's vote, but on Wednesday, he refused to declare his full support for the bill despite their entreaties.

In the Senate, an extraordinary 11th-hour maneuver by Democrats to kill a controversial bank fee opposed by key Republican senators got mixed results. And with the legislation’s final fate uncertain, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced he won’t take it up until after next week’s July 4th recess.

His decision buys Democrats time to wait for a Democratic replacement to fill the seat left vacant by the death Monday of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and to continue courting several fence-sitting Republicans.

But leaving the bill undone over the recess doesn’t come without risk. Republicans and other opponents could use the week-long break to foment public outcry reminiscent of last summer’s opposition to health care reform – a specter a leading Republican raised on the House floor Wednesday.

“This bill is a massive intrusion of federal government into the lives of every American. It is the financial services equivalent of ObamaCare, the government takeover of our health care system,” said Alabama Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee.

House Republicans argued that the bill would give the federal government too much power to control the economy. Democrats countered that it would reign in the excesses of Wall Street and protect consumers.

“My friends on the other side of the aisle just don’t get it,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). “We have an obligation to help those that are suffering because of this bad economy.”

At the White House, President Barack Obama said in a statement that the House vote “puts us on the cusp of passing… the most far-reaching reform since the Great Depression. “

““I look forward to passage in the Senate and signing the bill into law,” he said.

In the Senate, Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced her support of the bill, while Scott Brown (R-Mass.) still showed no sign that he’ll back it.

Both Collins and Brown – key players in Reid’s vote calculus to move forward on the bill — had expressed concerns with a $19 billion bank tax inserted into the legislation during deliberations by a House-Senate conference committee.

On Wednesday, though, Brown still refused to declare his full support for the bill he once supported in the Senate – even though his previous statements indicated the now-eliminated tax on the nation’s largest financial institutions was his primary concern.

“I appreciate the conference committee revisiting the Wall Street reform bill and removing the $19 billion bank tax. Over the July recess, I will continue to review this important bill,” Brown said. “I remain committed to putting in place safeguards to prevent another financial meltdown, ensure that consumers are protected and that this bill is paid for without new taxes.”

Frank said he didn’t understand Brown’s recalcitrance.

“He’s got all the information he needs. You know, he did succeed in helping kill the fee on banks,” Frank said. “It’s done, there's no more flexibility. It can’t be changed anymore. We’re going to pass this and send it over.”